"Yours is the first of Christ’s faces to greet God’s people as they assemble for prayer. Your greeting of welcome is the first wish that “the Lord be with you!” Yours is the word that welcomes the stranger to be at home, or the silence that makes of our assembly a foreign land. Yours is the task of discretion: knowing how to welcome, and when and where to seat the latecomer. Yours may be the last word that ushers the community to its week of work in the Lord’s vineyard. Yours is the Lord’s face and voice for those who enter and depart the holy ground of prayer."

Very often the first person you see when you arrive for Mass is one of our Ushers or Greeters. They are old and young, male and female, families and single folks. Everyone is welcome to be a part of this ministry. Keep reading to find out more about what these ministers do.

Greeters arrive at St. James about 20 minutes before Mass and say hello to people as they arrive. They answer questions about our facility, hand things out, and generally make us feel welcome. Greeters also help us to recruit individuals and families to bring up the Bread and Wine during the Offertory.

Greeters are assigned to volunteer at Mass about once a month. Using our Parish Scheduling Software, you can set your preferences for your assignments, get automatic reminders when it is your turn, and easily request a sub.

Ushers help us to participate more fully in the Mass. Some of their tasks are quite visible, such as passing the plates for the collection and directing the communion procession. They also prepare the church before Mass and hand out bulletins as we leave. They take on many small tasks that help Mass to run smoothly and minimize distractions so that we can all pray.

Some of our Ushers serve every week at their favorite Mass. Others serve one or two times each month. Schedules are generally prepared for a 2-month period and take into account each minister’s availability (using the Parish Scheduling Software).

Get Involved

Ushers & Greeters are hospitable, organized and resourceful individuals. They have the ability to make people feel welcome. They love to see their work make a difference in the quality of our communal worship.

Are you called to be part of the Ushering Team or one of our Greeters? Think about it. Pray about it. Is this a way that you can answer your baptismal call and serve your fellow parishioners?

Liturgy Team Scheduling

The parish subscribes to an on-line service, called Ministry Scheduler Pro, that automatically sends reminders to ministers when their turn to serve is coming, and enables ministers to request a substitute by simply clicking a button. Registered users can access this service by going to the Ministry Scheduler Pro page.